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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. dip — to sink
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wake — a trail
  12. hand — in cards
  13. key — the most important part
  14. hand — help
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cell — in biology
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. key — in music
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com